CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2003 Virginia Tech

8–⁠5 (4–⁠3 Big East), coached by Frank Beamer.

Schedule and results

Virginia Tech in 2003, game by game: won vs. UCF 49–28; won vs. James Madison 43–0; won vs. Texas A&M 35–19; won vs. UConn 47–13; won at Rutgers 48–22; won vs. Syracuse 51–7; lost at West Virginia 7–28; won vs. No. 2 Miami 31–7; lost at No. 25 Pittsburgh 28–31; won at Temple 24–23; lost vs. Boston College 27–34; lost at Virginia 21–35; lost vs. California 49–52+44−21Won 49–28 vs. UCF+21UCFWon 43–0 vs. James Madison+43James MadisonWon 35–19 vs. Texas A&M+16Texas A&MWon 47–13 vs. UConn+34UConnWon 48–22 at Rutgers+26RutgersWon 51–7 vs. Syracuse+44SyracuseLost 7–28 at West Virginia-21West VirginiaWon 31–7 vs. No. 2 Miami+24No. 2 MiamiLost 28–31 at No. 25 Pittsburgh-3No. 25 PittsburghWon 24–23 at Temple+1TempleLost 27–34 vs. Boston College-7Boston CollegeLost 21–35 at Virginia-14VirginiaLost 49–52 vs. California-3California
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsUCFW 49–⁠2868%
Sep 6vsJames MadisonW 43–⁠090%
Sep 18vsTexas A&MW 35–⁠1969%
Sep 27vsUConnW 47–⁠1377%
Oct 4atRutgersW 48–⁠2279%
Oct 11vsSyracuseW 51–⁠773%
Oct 22atWest VirginiaL 7–⁠2866%
Nov 1vs2MiamiW 31–⁠737%
Nov 8at25PittsburghL 28–⁠3147%
Nov 15atTempleW 24–⁠2385%
Nov 22vsBoston CollegeL 27–⁠3473%
Nov 29atVirginiaL 21–⁠3553%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsCaliforniaInsight BowlL 49–⁠5253%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to California 52–⁠49 in the Insight Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 4th in the Big East.

In program history: The 25th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 9
  2. Wk 3: 9
  3. Wk 4: 9
  4. Wk 5: 8
  5. Wk 6: 5
  6. Wk 7: 4
  7. Wk 8: 4
  8. Wk 9: 3
  9. Wk 10: 3
  10. Wk 11: 10
  11. Wk 12: 5
  12. Wk 13: 12
  13. Wk 14: 12
  14. Wk 15: 21

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 2003.

Led the nationKevin Jones: rushing touchdowns (21 TD)

Rimington TrophyJake Grove, C

2 consensus All-AmericansKevin Jones, RB; Jake Grove, C

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
4–⁠3 4th in Big East
AP final
Unranked peak No. 3
Points
460–⁠299
Coach
Frank Beamer
Elo
1610 +1 this season
SP+ rating
16.0 No. 24 of 117; offense No. 9, defense No. 52
SRS
10.7 No. 22 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 27
Offensive coordinator
Bryan Stinespring
Defensive coordinator
Bud Foster
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠4

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.2own 35— allowed
Defense-0.1own 29— caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Top recruits in the 2003 class

Tripp Carroll OG★★★★No. 110
Carlton Powell DT★★★No. 682
David Clowney WR★★No. 1050
Nick Marshman OT★★No. 1050
Jon Fulton DUAL★★No. 1050

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.767
Receivers12.00.767
Offensive line23.00.850
Defensive line13.00.800
Defensive backs12.00.767
Athletes and specialists12.00.767
Whole class72.40.795

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2004

The 2004 draft
Rd 1DeAngelo Hall DBAtlanta Falcons
Rd 1Kevin Jones RBDetroit Lions
Rd 2Jake Grove COakland Raiders
Rd 4Ernest Wilford WRJacksonville Jaguars
Rd 5Nathaniel Adibi DEPittsburgh Steelers

2003 Big East standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Miami6–⁠111–⁠25
West Virginia6–⁠18–⁠5
Pittsburgh5–⁠28–⁠5
Virginia Tech4–⁠38–⁠5
Boston College3–⁠48–⁠5
Syracuse2–⁠56–⁠6
Rutgers2–⁠55–⁠7
Temple0–⁠71–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.